Storytelling that Challenges Stereotypes and Myths in Barra da Tijuca, Brazil

Barra da Tijuca, a region in the state of Rio de Janeiro Brazil, has undergone rapid and scattered urbanization over the past decade leading up to the Olympics and World Cup.  Yet there is a lack of urbanist accounts about how these changes have shaped the experiences, needs, and desires of the residents that live in these diverse and complex ecosystems. Pitching and developing a storytelling concept, I designed a book to highlight the stories of nine people from diverse regions of Barra da Tijuca for professionals working on architecture, urban design, and planning projects in the region.

Context

How might we challenge perceptions of existing places and people in a region facing rapid and new development? For many resident in Barra da Tijuca, the region is characterized as sprawling towers and suburban development alongside a strip of highway, abandoned lakes and ponds, and hills cloaked with informal towns and neighborhoods. Founders of Faiscas, a non-profit art and architecture collective, was working with urbanists to reimagine what new development and programming could be launched to support the existing social, economic and physical structures of different regions of Barra da Tijuca.  

Approach

I designed a storytelling platform to interview residents and discuss four topics: nature, transportation, cultural amenities, and safety. These topics were selected because of their ubiquity, and the comfort for residents to engage in fluid conversations and relate their experiences to other people living in diverse regions of the area. I documented interviews and explorations through photography and transcribed, edited, and translated Portuguese conversations into narrative. Afterwards, I developed the layout and graphic design of book to ensure people and their stories were the central focus.  

Outcome

My collaborators at Faiscas, produced that book of nine stories that document different regions and residents of Barra da Tijuca. The book was utilized in architecture and design studios to spark the imagination of urbanists and support their understanding and research of people that live in the region. The text was published in a compilation showcased in Rio de Janeiro and New York City.